Seven Years
by memoire
Summary: An alternate ending to Crime and Punishment, one that does not imply the happy ending that Raskolnikov has in the original.


**Disclaimer: Crime and Punishment belongs to Fyodor Dostoevsky.**

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Raskolnikov has never felt so jubilant in his entire life. There were only seven more years until his imprisonment in Siberia ended and he could start his new life with Sonia. These seven years seemed nothing compared to the long life he would be having. Once those years have passed, Raskolnikov would only be thirty-two – a still youthful age to be living in.

He felt Sonia gently touched the tips of his fingers. Her childish smile was radiant and looked like it contained all that is good in the world. It could have been brighter if not from the illness she had. A light breeze came through and Sonia pulled her green shawl tighter around her neck. Raskolnikov could not believe how he didn't notice how beautiful she was until now. Sonia was the light to his darkness and he couldn't imagine life without her.

There was no need for words. It only took a few light touches and a calm silence to convey their feelings to one another. Indeed, the only sound was the singing of the nomads in the distance, the twittering of the birds, and the rustle of the grass blowing in the wind. Even after the sun has long set and the stars replaced the sun in the sky, he laid down on his stiff bed and dreamed about her.

He was in St. Petersburg on the bridge above the Neva River. Both the sky and the river were crystal clear; the sun was an orange circle bathing everything in a warm light. The air was perfumed with the scent of freshly bloomed flowers. Above him was a flock of geese traveling to the green pastures. The Imperial City was once again full of life after a long and bitter winter. The city exchanged its white sheets of snow for warm spring sunlight.

Raskolnikov was alone on this bridge in the beautiful weather. He could see no other human in sight. He was not alone for long, however. In the distance, he could see a figure running up towards him. It was Sonia who looked delightful in a striped green dress. In her hands was a straw hat adorned with flowers and her hair was done up in curls.

Just before they embraced, Raskolnikov woke up with a start. Once again, he found himself on the wooden bed alone in the dark. The only thing that he had a connection to Sonia with was the New Testament Mechanically, he read over the part with rising of Lazarus. She brought it to him when he was ill and was afraid that Sonia would pester him with Biblical phrases being the religious maniac she is. The New Testament was practically her life; perhaps he is holding it right now, in his very hands?

He wondered what Sonia was doing at this very moment. When they parted from the river, she was happy despite that the sickness has taken a hold of her again. In seven years, they could start a new life in Petersburg. Raskolnikov knew that it wouldn't be easy starting again. He was a murderer who deserved more than eight years of labor in Siberia; he deserved death in the most painful way possible – and when all that is said and done and his soul is ejected from his body, it would go down the deepest depths of Hell where he would be subjugated to indescribable torture from the Devil himself.

Despite his flaws, failings, and all the mistakes that he have made, Sonia still saw the good in him. She was the first person who he confessed the crime to and was friend with Lizaveta, yet Sonia still supported his actions and went as far as to go to Siberia with him. Suffering through those seven years would be worth his time for Raskolnikov when he had an entire lifetime to spend with Sonia. Those seven years would feel like seven days.

He often dreamed of what would happen when they reunited. Dunia would embrace him with tears in her eyes as she whispered, "welcome home Rodia." Razumikhin is not far and he would give Raskonikov a pat on the back. The two are probably engaged, or are going to be engaged (perhaps Dunia would wait until he is freed so that he could attend the wedding). There will be a great celebration for his return with cake and other unnecessary things that Dunia will force upon him.

In the following week, Sonia and he would keep to themselves. If they had enough money, they could travel the world from London, Paris, New York, and then back to Russia. Sonia would have recovered from her illness and she would chatter on about how God was kind to her and that He blessed her with good health. If all goes well, then Raskolnikov will ask her hand in marriage… The wedding would be a small affair tucked in a quiet place… These dreams are what kept Raskolnikov going.

The following six years passed by quickly. The earth went through its yearly cycle of death and rebirth with the changing of the seasons. Raskolnikov finally arrived on the last day of his sentencing.

It was cold winter's evening and the sun was just about to set. Raskolnikov was sitting on his bed staring at the window wistfully. Outside, the snow was falling lightly onto the ground moving like fairies in the wind. He was waiting for Sonia, who promised earlier this week that she would come by to visit him before getting acquitted. She was sick with a mild fever and the best thing that she could have done was stay in bed, but instead she went out of her way to come and speak to him.

Yes, it was just like Sonia to do that.

Morning turned to afternoon, and the afternoon turned into night. At some point, a guard came in asking if he was going to leave. Raskolnikov replied that he was waiting for Sonia to come. Raskolnikov waited and waited.

She never came.

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 **I recently read Crime and Punishment as an independent reading project for reading class and had to do one of the topics for writing. As you can tell, this is an alternate ending for the novel. I quite enjoyed this book and this counts as fanfiction so I decided to post this on FF. My only criticism is that Raskolnivov spent way too much time explaining his thoughts - but it's like any classic novel, is it? Hoped you guys enjoyed this story.**


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